Coot's 2013 Grow Log

I guess this is my second year growing hot peppers.  I tried growing some last year, but my wife and I moved into a new house in June 2012, so my plants did not go in the ground until July.  Needless to say, my efforts did not yield any ripe peppers, but it was a learning experience nonetheless. 
 
This year, I started my first seeds back in February, so this first post is my attempt to summarize the last 4 months.  I don't have as many pictures as I would like to have, but I hadn't thought of making a Glog at the time, so any pictures I have were just taken on my phone as a way to document the growth progress of the peppers.
 
Here's my grow list:
 
Grown from seed:  (Seeds obtained from Pepper Joe, Pepperlover, Justaguy, and cmpman1974, among other sources)
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend - Red
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend - Yellow
7 Pot - Yellow
Brain Strain - Red
Giant Bhut Jolokia
Peach Bhut Jolokia
CGN 21500
White Habanero
Chocolate Habanero
Golden Habanero
Chocolate Fatalii
Cayenne
Charleston Hot
Biker Billy Jalapeno
Fresno
Black Jalapeno
Purple Jalapeno
Anaheim
Serrano
Poblano
Santa Fe Grande
Hungarian Hot Wax
Sapporo
Takanotsume
Corni di Toro
Chocolate Bell
California Wonder Bell
Jimmy Nardello
 
Plants from Justaguy:
7 Pot Barrackpore
Caribbean Red Habanero
 
Plants from Local Nursery:
Tepin
Pequin
Zimbabwe Bird
Peach Habanero
Craig's Triple Hot Habnero
 
Plants from Cross Country Nurseries:
Wild Brazil
Fatalii
Jamaican Hot Chocolate
Bonda Ma Jacques
Aji Cristal
Lemon Drop
Scotch Bonnet - Yellow
Bishop's Crown
 
Overwinter:
Naga Morich/7 Pot cross (from Justaguy)
 
44 different varieties total.  I am planning to grow a total of 133 pepper plants this year.
 
 
I started the seeds in 72-cell trays using seed starting mix.  The trays were placed on heat mats to achieve a temperature around 80 degrees.  Annum seeds began to germinate in about a week, but Chinense seeds took 2-3 weeks usually.  Once the seeds sprouted, I put them under my 600 Watt Metal Halide grow light.  Once the seedlings grew large enough, I transplanted them to Solo cups with Happy Frog soil.  They remained in the Solo cups until they were planted in the ground or in buckets.  I started seeds three different times between February and April as I found more varieties I wanted to grow.  That is why some of the plants in the following pictures are so much larger than others.
 
Plants on March 28th, 2013

 
Plants on April 10, 2013

 
Plants on April 19, 2013

 
 
I began hardening off the plants in May.  I also had a Naga Morich/7 Pot cross (from Justaguy) that made it through the winter.  It began sprouting leaves under the grow light, and by mid-May, it already had pods growing.
 
Hardening some plants outside, May 14, 2013

 
Naga Morich/7 Pot Cross Overwinter, May 14, 2013

 
Naga Morich/7 Poy Cross Pods, May 14, 2013

 
Plant-out was mostly done over Memorial Day weekend.  Pics of the plant-out will follow shortly.
 
Thanks for looking!

 

[NattyPepper]

looking good, very ambitious grow.  Plants look healthy, keep up the good work and you will have more peppers than you know what to do with.

 

[meinchoh]

Fantastic job, Coot!!!

Can you go into some detail on how you overwintered that Naga Morich x 7 Pot? I'd love to hear! That plant looks awesome!

 

[Coot]

looking good, very ambitious grow.  Plants look healthy, keep up the good work and you will have more peppers than you know what to do with.

 
Thanks!  I already figure I will be giving away peppers to friends and family before the end of the season, as I'm sure I will have way more than I can use myself.   
 
 

Can you go into some detail on how you overwintered that Naga Morich x 7 Pot? I'd love to hear! That plant looks awesome!

 
It was already in a bucket, so all I did with it was bring it inside and forget about it.  I think I brought it inside toward the end of October last year, and it stayed in a dark, cold room until about mid-March.  I didn't prune it, and only watered it 2-3 times in 5 months.  It lost all its leaves, and most of the stems died back.  I'm surprised it survived, honestly.  I put it in the grow tent mid-March, and by April it was growing leaves (you can see a portion of it in the lower-left corner of the 2nd and 3rd picture in my first post).  I can't believe how fast it took off, and how fast it started producing pods.  I will definitely be looking to overwinter more this year.  Maybe I will even keep a few producing in the tent through the winter.

 

[Devv]

So I'm sayin' where have you been?
 
Plants look ready to rock, going dirt or containers?
 
AND, good luck this year

 

[Coot]

Ok, here are the pictures from the Memorial Day weekend plant-out.  18 peppers in containers (19 with the overwinter), and 36 in the main garden.  I also planted zucchini, garlic, onions, carrots, and beans in the main garden.
 
 
Containers (May 25, 2013):

 
Main Garden (May 25, 2013):

 
Main Garden - Pepper Plants (May 25, 2013):

 
 
The final plan is to have about 50 peppers in containers, 36 in the main garden, 12 in small garden beds in the front yard, and 35 in flower beds around the house.  
 
Since Memorial Day, a lot more planting has been done.  Current pictures will follow in the next day or two.

 

[Justaguy]

And that there garden is a deep one.

 

[Coot]

Yes, the main garden is quite deep.  The walls of the raised bed are made of 2x8 boards, so the walls are about 15-inches high.  It took about 12 cubic yards of material to fill it.
 
Here are some current pictures, taken Saturday, 6/8/13:
 
Main Garden:

 

 
 
Containers:

 
 
Back Flower Bed:

 
 
Side Flower Bed:

 
 
Front Flower Bed:

 
 
Three 4'x4' Garden Beds:

 
 
I have a bunch of individual plant pictures as well.  Hopefully I will get a chance to post them later tonight.

 

[Spicegeist]

Now that is a lot of plants!  Tidy Cats!  Love that

 

[Coot]

Haha, yup, cat litter buckets.   No reason to waste good containers! 
 
Here are some more pics!
 
 
Takanotsume in a container with tons of side shoots:

 
 
Chocolate Habanero in a container.  One of the nicest looking plants I have.

 
 
Jimmy Nardellos in front flower bed:

 

 
 
Yellow 7 Pot:

 
 
Red Brain Strain.  The wind ripped off most of the original leaves, but it's going crazy now with side branches.

 
 
Santa Fe Grande plants in the main garden:

 
 
Biker Billy Jalapenos in the main garden:

 
 
Chocolate Bell peppers in the main garden:

 
 
Hungarian Hot Wax peppers in the main garden:

 
 
Not too much planting left to do.  6 more peppers need to go in containers, then all 133 will be planted.  I have another flower bed that just has weeds in it right now, so that might become a pepper bed for some of my leftover/spare plants before the weekend is over.  Might be able to boost the total to 140!
 
 

 

[WalkGood]

Every little ting looks great! Lush looking plants & healthy love the all around the yard, great raised beds … mon you will be swimming in pods dis season, great job!

 

[Coot]

Wow...Way too long since the last update!  Almost everything is doing really well.  Lost 1-2 plants to disease, and had a problem with mites for a few weeks which I now have under control (I think), but otherwise there haven't been too many problems.
 
Here is the front flower bed.  The chinenses are getting really big.  The small plants under the picture window are the Jimmy Nardellos.  Don't let their small size fool you, they are loaded with pods.

 
 
And here are the front 4'x4' superhot beds.  The closest bed has 4 moruga plants, and they are pushing 4 feet tall.

 
 
All the plants are exploding with pods!  This is what I harvested on 8/24/13.  Other than a pot of green beans and the two yellow zucchinis on the lower right, everything else is peppers.  30+ pepper varieties are in there.

 
 
Most of the superhots will be dried and powdered.  Below are some cherry smoked morugas and cherry smoked peach bhuts, dried and ready to become powder.

 

 
 
 
Hopefully I will find some time this weekend to take some pictures of the rest of the plants in the back yard.  
 
Thanks for looking!
 
 

 

[Justaguy]

Update??? I'm going to have to walk over for one I see.

 

[laynlow]

Nice glog man!  Nice haul on the peppers man!